Skulpturenpark Köln

 
 
The Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln – a non-profit organization responsible for the Skulpturenpark Köln

The Skulpturenpark Köln is an open-air museum for contemporary sculpture. The park was founded by the private initiative of the collector family, Dr. Michael (died 2005) and Dr. Eleonore (died 2007) Stoffel, in 1997 and celebrated in 2017 with the exhibition KölnSkulptur #9 its 20th anniversary. Since 2008, the non-profit Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln has been financially, administratively and organizationally responsible for the Skulpturenpark Köln. This ambitious project is financed by the Michael und Eleonore Stoffel Förderstiftung, as well as by income raised from letting the house on the Elsa-Brändström-Strasse (the former private house of the collector family Stoffel), and by an annual grant from the city of Cologne that sets off the operating costs and supports the Skulpturenpark Köln as a cultural institution.

The park, which is about 35,000 square meters in size, is an oasis of peace and contemplation in the middle of the surrounding urban infrastructure, a place for the immediate experience of contemporary sculpture. It is located in the triangle between Zoobrücke, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer and Riehler Straße.

The Skulpturenpark Köln has won national and international recognition in the art world and with the public at large. A wide range of contemporary sculptures is presented in the form of temporary outdoor exhibitions. The KölnSkulptur exhibition series has a remarkable history, its reputation strengthened over the years by exhibitions taking place continuously and accompanying catalogs. During this time, the park has featured contemporary outdoor sculptures by more than 150 internationally renowned artists. Among the best known are Rosemarie Trockel, Dan Graham, Joel Shapiro, Markus Lüpertz, Ulrich Rückriem, Marc di Suvero, Günther Förg, Tony Cragg, Alexander Calder, Martin Kippenberger, Anish Kapoor, Norbert Kricke, Tom Burr, Mary Bauermeister to mention but a few.

Many works have been specially created for the KölnSkulptur exhibition cycle. The production of new artworks is financed by the non-profit Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln to ensure their realization. Sponsors, promotors and patrons who supported in the past continue to generously promote the current KölnSkulptur exhibition series.
For many young artists, the participation in the KölnSkulptur exhibition cycle was the beginning of their international careers.

The Japanese star architect Sou Fujimoto was able to create his first work outside of Japan, Garden Gallery, 2011, during the KölnSkulptur #6 exhibition in 2011. One year later, Sou Fujimoto designed the Pavilion 2012 for the Serpentine Gallery in London's Hyde Park and won the Architecture Biennale in Venice in the same year.

The KölnSkulptur exhibition series has a biennial character. Every two years the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln appoints an independent curator, who then organizes the KölnSkulptur exhibition according to his or her own concept. Each exhibition has its own visual identity and defines and reinterprets the Skulpturenpark Köln with significant contemporary outdoor sculptures. Recent curators were, among others, Renate Goldmann, Friedrich Meschede, Thomas D. Trummer, Chus Martínez and Tobias Berger.

The Skulpturenpark Köln is open all year round - 365 days a year - and the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln does not charge any entrance fees. The Skulpturenpark Köln is visited annually by approx. 60,000 - 100,000 guests. More and more school classes, as well as students from the Cologne region, young people, families, guided groups, people of all ages from Germany and abroad visit the park every year. At 3 p.m. on every first Sunday of the month, the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln provides a public guided tour.

Since 2008, the non-profit Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln has continued to uphold the original idea of the Stoffel family to secure the future of the Skulpturenpark Köln and to preserve it as a place of artistic dialogue and reflection in this exceptional symbiosis of nature and art.
 

Parkansicht_SW_DJI_0490_klein